Q&A - What is the best ground cover to use in a garden?

Question:What is the best ground cover to use in a vegetable garden? I've heard of using vetch, clover, or manure.

Answer: Gardening Expert Tonya Ashworth says that fresh manure should not be used in the garden. For green manures or cover crops, she gives several pieces of advice. If you plant a legume it will fix nitrogen into the soil which will benefit the plants that come after. Small grains are good at weed suppression and biomass build-up. A combination of a legume and a grain would give you the best of both worlds. Tonya recommends planting rye and clover or rye and vetch.